Greater taters and abject neglect

Over the last week I've not been up to much in the garden or up at the plot - I turned my ankle quite hard the weekend before last, and the only tending I have been doing is to a swollen and bruised foot!

Still, I have managed a few notable harvests from the garden:

I'm not sure which variety these potatoes are - they look a little Anya-like, but with a white skin rather than reddy-brown... if anyone has any idea, do please let me know... 

The yield was about the same size in weight as the white round variety I pulled up last month, but the quality and overall size were improved. Harvesting them was a challenge in itself, as there were not one, but two ants nests in the grow bag! Thankfully, they were not able to nip quick or hard enough to leave any bite marks!

I also found some more runner beans on my seemingly evergreen runner plants - the three to the right were particularly pleasing, especially as they had hid from my attention until I spotted them when harvesting - all on the same shoot! I don't go in for shows, but they would be a reasonable effort for a matching trio.

However, with the good comes the bad and the ugly...

After harvesting my only radish from the plot a few weeks ago (and not being overly keen on the smell or flavour), I neglected my radishes in the greenhouse, and they have wilted and run to seed. After all the effort keeping snails away, I've let them go to ruin... shameful.

My cabbage seedlings are looking decidedly anaemic... they have also had some visits from caterpillars/white fly larvae, as you can see. However, before these seedlings completely fade and die, in the next few days I will plant these out at the plot to see if they can kick on and produce anything of a decent size...

Lastly, I have just two or three fennel seedlings that have survived the lack of care and attention - I will get these planted out too. To be honest, with it now being September, it may prove too little effort too late, but again, we'll see... I did have five seedlings, but another snail put pay to two of them.

Hopefully there'll be another update from the plot soon... will be interesting to see what a week or so has done to the plants there...

Got him!

Breaking news: In a sortie last night under cover of darkness (with an electric torch!), I found my rogue gastropod!

He was already making his way from the bottom of the greenhouse when I caught him in the act!

In retrospect, I had made quite a snail/slug haven at the base of the greenhouse - because it is one of those tall thin mini-greenhouses, I had put loads of bricks on the bottom shelf to weigh it down so it didn't get blown over. With all the damp, plus the bricks as cover from predators, it was probably the perfect place to hide out.

So I've reorganised now - tidied up and used a lot less bricks, and I'll know to regularly check there now to make sure I'm not harbouring any unwanted stowaways.

It feels a sense of achievement in catching the snail - let's just hope I'm not like that deluded bunch of fishermen in Jaws where they think they've caught the right shark, only later to proved very, very wrong(!). Signs are good so far though... no more munched leaves this morning.

And as for Mr Snail himself, I have to confess I relented on my sentence pronounced yesterday - as the chickens were tucked away and asleep, I decided to extend mercy and threw the snail alive right up the back of the garden. It's fate may still be sealed though, running the gauntlet with the many hedgehogs we have milling around, as well as a resident song thrush, which we've witnessed killing many a snail, breaking the shells on our garden path.